If you've ever considered writing your personal
stories, this course is for you. We’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal
essays, family history ~ personal stories of all kinds. Plus, of course,
we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it.Whether
you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly
course will get you going. We'll reveal the tricks and
conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the
techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises
and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this
writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for
a wider public, don't miss this course.

Instructor Brian Henryhas been a book editor and creative writing
instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s
most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University
and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to
Charlottetown. With Cecilia Anca Popescu, he is the co-author of Bloody Christmas, a memoir of the 1989 Romanian Revolution, which is currently under consideration with a literary agent. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his
students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Read reviews of the Writing Personal Stories coursehere, and to read reviews of other courses and workshops, just scroll down.

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. ~ BrianSaba Sulaimanhas joined
Talcott Notch Literary as a junior agent, and like all new agents, she needs
authors.

Saba majored in Economics and Middle Eastern Studies at Wellesley
College, then studied modern Persian
Literature at the University of Chicago, where she got involved with editing
our department’s academic journal.

“And it finally hit me,” says Saba, “working closely with writers to
hone their craft; seeing a piece of writing from its inception through to its
eventual publication; and advocating for what I believed was stellar prose
worthy of recognition—this was my calling. So I interned at various newspaper
and magazine publications, worked as an editorial intern at Sourcebooks, and
then wound up at Talcott Notch.”

Young Adult and New
Adult: all subgenres except paranormal and
sci-fi.

Middle Grade: think Roald Dahl.

Non-fiction: humor.

“I’m looking for strong voices and unconventional narratives that really
make me sit up, pay attention, and move me,” says Sabe. “Introduce me to
unforgettable characters with complex, deep relationships, and show me worlds
where things aren’t necessarily as they seem. Intelligent, sharp writing with
soul is my biggest weakness, and if you can offer a fresh perspective on top of
that, I’ll probably be sold.

“Also – and this deserves its own paragraph – I’m all about diversity,
in all its various forms. Bonus points if your book contains multicultural
perspectives, and themes of immigration, displacement, and cultural adjustment.”

Other
upcoming workshops, include "How to Write Great
Characters," Saturday, July 11 in Burlington (here) and
Saturday, July 18 in Kitchener (here),
and "Writing Your Life," Saturday,
August 15 in Midland (here).

But the
best way to grow as a writer or to get your manuscript ready for publication is
with a weekly class. This summer, Brian will lead a "Welcome
to Creative Writing" course on Thursday evenings, starting
July 2, in Burlington (seehere).

This fall, Brian will offer a full line-up of six weekly courses for beginners
through advanced:

Thursday, June 25, 2015

St. Alban's Church, 537 Main
Street, Georgetown, Ontario (In the village of Glen Williams (Map here.)

The Next Step in Creative Writing
will challenge you to take a step up in your
writing. Over the ten weeks of classes, you’ll
be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All
your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may
be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the
instructor will give short lectures at the start of class, addressing the needs
of the group, and in addition to learning how to critique your own work and
receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the
greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a
piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a supportive group
and a rewarding class.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has
been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He
publishesQuick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for
writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops
everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his
proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get their first
book published and launch their careers as authors.
Check out two reviews of the Next Step coursehere. And see more reviews of
Brian’s courses and workshops here.

Note: I start working out the schedule for when
participants are due to bring in a piece of their writing three weeks before
our start date, so please try to sign up by September 9. In any case, these
courses fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment. ~ Brian

15.Running, Canadian
runners’ magazine (On) Personal Essays: The back page of the magazine features a
first-person essay delving into a runner’s humorous or life-altering
experiences in the sport. These are 500-650 words (and other kinds of pieces
about running, of course). Submission guidelines here.

Note: The Next Step in Creative Writing will also be
offered on Thursday evenings in Georgetown. For details or to register, email
me at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

The Next Step in Creative Writing will challenge
you to take a step up in your
writing. Over the ten weeks of classes, you’ll
be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All
your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may
be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give
short lectures at the start of class, addressing the needs of the group, and in
addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive
suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come
from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and
how they write and re-write. This is a supportive group and a rewarding class.

Check out two
reviews of the Next Step coursehere. And see more reviews of
Brian’s courses and workshops here.

Note: I
start working out the schedule for when participants are due to bring in a piece
of their writing three weeks before our start date, so please try to sign up by
September 9. In any case, these courses fill up, so enroll early to avoid
disappointment. ~
Brian

This Intensive course isn't for beginners; it's for people who have
been writing for a while or who have done a course or two before and are
working on their own projects. Over the twelve weeks of classes, you’ll be asked
to bring in six pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces
may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand
alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give
short lectures addressing the needs of the group, and in addition to learning
how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your
writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your
classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and
re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Note: I
start working out the schedule for when participants are due to bring in a piece
of their writing three weeks before our start date, so please try to sign up by
August 25. In any case, these courses fill up, so enroll early to avoid
disappointment. ~
Brian

Instructor Brian Henryhas been a book editor and creative writing
instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s
most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University
and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to
Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his
students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Brian Henry has been a book editor, writer, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University. He also leads weekly creative writing courses in Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville and Georgetown and conducts Saturday workshops throughout Ontario. His proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.